Thursday, May 23, 2019

To all who don’t know me, my name is Lila and I’m the newest
RA here at Serena camp! Two years ago I came to Kenya on a study abroad through
the MSU Hyena Lab, and fell absolutely in love with the curious and
enthusiastic spotted hyenas. And now, just two years later, I’m back to study
all of their wonderful comings and goings. Here are just a few of my most recent favorite moments:

NSH, jealous of GOAT and WMEN's cuddles

CAMI and KRKN having the time of their lives playing

SHOT greatly enjoying investigating his own pastes

But it’s
not all fun and rainbows, let me tell you. I have been charged by elephants and
buffalos, growled at by lions, and nearly been trapped in quite a few
downpours. But the photos are spectacular.

We have
quite a few very busy dens here in the Mara Triangle, with even the least busy
dens attracting quite a bit of attention from a few sub-adults. And even in
South territory, by far our least busy territory, we’ve seen quite a bit of
interesting activity, including a Happy Zebra female encroaching near the South
and Happy Zebra border. And for all who don’t know, females don’t generally
stray to the outskirts of a territory alone, so this was quite an interesting
observation.

Every day I
learn more about the hyenas and fall only further in love with their wacky
ways. Watching a cub zoom around a den site thwacking into each and every other
hyena around is quite the spectacle. And only just yesterday I saw GOLI, a male
sub-adult in Happy Zebra attempt to greet HWK, one of our moms at our most busy
den, only to have HWK not even turn her head or possibly realize that GOLI was nearly
on top of her. I have never laughed so hard at such a fruitless attempt at a
male to say hello.

I can’t
wait for the year to continue and to keep learning about these wonderful hyenas,
and I more hilarious photos!

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Currently our
Happy Zebra clan is, for lack of a better phrase, poppin’ off the rocks. There
are currently two active communal dens in the territory, but it’s one in
particular that is exceptionally hectic.

Lugga D2 in all its glory.

Right next to a
deep lugga, a gorgeous den site sits. Open and far away from where tour cars
stray, we share many private moments with these hyenas. Currently, we know of
13 cubs that are using this site: HWK cubs (WMEN PPL), SGL cubs (RBG NSH), MUON
cub (RPSD), RUMG cubs (ARGO NAUT), EREM cub (MSHU), PIKE cub (SHOT) and Slash,
Infinity, and Tim, whose mothers we have not yet confirmed. See the end of this post for their
full names. We also, VERY excitingly, saw LANC carry a tiny baby to the den
(video below) and suspect she has another stashed away. AKA there is a LOT
going on.

Managed to take this short clip in the excitement!

When we roll up
on this den, it’s never just the 13 cubs present, but usually five or so moms,
a few subadults, and maybe a male or two ambling around in the distance.

I’ll paint you a
picture of the den session on the morning of May 13th.

At 0602 we
arrive. Instantly, we are greeted by RPSD NAUT NSH Infinity and Tim. They know
our vehicle well. EREM (a mom) is sacked out by the den. PIKE, the matriarch,
isn’t present, but we see her three highest ranking kids, FEMI, MUNG and BARD,
running around trying to play with the cubs. Lila and I laugh as we see an
adult hyena emerge from a den hole. Our laughs quickly turn into shock as we
realize this is LANC...another of PIKE’s cubs. Her being in the den hole was a
total shock, as we did not think she had cubs. MUNG and BARD run over to LANC,
who submissively open mouth appeases and goes ears back before retreating back
into the den.

Cubs nervously grooming FEMI.

Over the next 10
minutes, the rest of the cubs emerge from the many den holes at this site. We
watch as the cubs groom one another, play, whoop, and engage in nervous greets
with the higher ranking subadults. The best part of these den sessions is
watching the aggressions/submissions and how the cubs grow in confidence over
time. Tim, originally a timid cub when we first met, now freely aggresses onto
the other cubs, and cubs approach him with their ears back. SHOT, PIKE’s baby,
is the youngest cub present but has the confidence of a much older cub –
exactly what we would expect from a baby of a high-ranking mother. WMEN and PPL
act as they usually do, nervous and suspecting of the car, just like their
mother.

We see RUMG, a
mother, lurking in the distance. We hypothesize she is keeping space to avoid
being aggressed on by FEMI MUNG and BARD. As if to confirm our hypothesis,
MUON, a low-ranking mother, suddenly arrives and is met by FEMI MUNG and three
cubs who all attack her into submission with bristle tail points, stand overs,
and bite shakes. RPSD, her baby tries to nurse on hoof for a few seconds.
Sadly, MUON leaves as quickly as she arrived L Poor MUON and RPSD.

We spent an hour
and a half at the den this morning and there was never a lapse in excitement.
We saw a gorgeous sunrise, were able to collect many saliva samples for
DNA/hormone analysis, discovered that LANC likely has two cubs, saw many many
examples of the dominance hierarchy being learned/implemented, and shared many
laughs over hyenas being the silly animals that they are. It was also the first
time Serena camp’s newest RA, Lila, transcribed at this crazy den and she did
an amazing job. These mornings are never dull and always memorable J

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

One of the best things about working in the
field as an RA, is that each day is different and you never know what surprise
the Mara will bring to you every day. Sometimes, we sit at a den and only few hyenas are there and they are just sleeping and no
interaction is going on. But sometimes, the dens are very busy and very
entertaining things happen. So today, let me tell you the story between hyenas
and warthogs that happened at one of our dens a few weeks ago.

So, this den is a big complex with many holes communicating
with each other’s. Both hyenas and warthogs were using those holes and they
were very close neighbors. This night, many hyenas including cubs were at the
den when warthogs arrived and wanted to go inside these holes. However, AQUA
(the matriarch of Pond clan) wasn’t happy about that and started to chase the
warthogs away. The warthogs were very determined to reach their holes and kept
on coming back, but AQUA was also very determined to not let that happen. She
chased them away several times and they kept on coming back, the warthogs were
also chasing her away! After a while, we noticed that AQUA has a wound on her
hip and that she is bleeding, she got speared by one of them!! When this
happened, other hyenas (especially hyena mums) got excited and joined AQUA to
chase these warthogs away. At the same time, they were also social sniffing the
warthog’s holes, joined by some of the cubs.

At some point, a mom warthog and her baby
manage to go through the hyena’s defense and reach their hole! When the hyenas
noticed that, they all started to dig into that hole to reach them. The mama
warthog got scared and managed to get away from the hole and escape the hyenas,
but she left her baby behind… AQUA went right into that hole and digged in
there for a good 15mins, being helped by three other hyenas. After some time,
we hear some screams coming from inside the hole and we see AQUA coming out…
with the baby warthog! She managed to get him inside the hole and she ran away
with it to have a well-deserved snack for herself, she was not willing to
share! AQUA was really not happy with these warthogs wounding her, so she took
her revenge by killing one of their babies. Well done AQUA!

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

It’s difficult to eloquently sum up
the experiences one has after spending a year in a place as magical as the
Maasai Mara, and it’s even more difficult to put the feelings one has upon
leaving into words. I have many memories I could choose from to answer the question “what
was your favorite thing about the past year?”. I could choose between seeing a cheetah
tackle an impala at full speed 15 feet from our car, knowing I was one of the
first humans Ygritte and Margaery ever saw as they wearily emerged from their
natal den for the first time in our presence, driving through herds of thousands
of wildebeest and being immersed in their weirdly necrotic smell, having a
month long stand-off with a hyena adamant on stealing the socks I used to seal
the hole in my tent zippers, the smell of mandazi in the early morning coming
from the lodges along the Talek river, the list goes on and on. But if I had to
choose, I think I would say my favorite memory from this year would be how the
Mara said goodbye to me.

The morning
of my last day in the Mara I was on solo obs, sitting with a group of some of
my favorite hyenas; Epic, Gothic, Pisces, Tiramisu, and Baked Alaska. I spent
about 10 minutes with them as they came up and investigated the car, chewed the
mud flaps, aggressed on each other, and gazed at me curiously with their big,
brown eyes. They were so close that I could see my reflection in Pisces’s eyes.
The lighting was perfect, each hyena was slightly backlit, the edges of their
fur seeming to glow in the morning sun. After they had all simultaneously lost
interest in me they started to wander into the nearby bushes. I called out to Epic,
hoping to get them to turn around one last time so that I could get a photograph
of their face. Epic ignored me, as did everyone else. It was almost like I didn’t
exist to them. I watched them with a bit of a heavy heart, their tails swishing
to ward off flies, as one by one they got further away from me until they all
disappeared into the bushes. And just like they there were gone – the last group
of hyenas I would see that morning.

Initially I
was really hurt; being blatantly ignored by some of your favorite animals on
your last morning isn’t an easy thing to stomach. I wanted to leave them on my own accord, not the other way around. I sat there alone for about a
minute, my voice cracking as I recorded their location into my DVR. After I
stopped the track I was hit with a totally different feeling, a feeling of
thankfulness, appreciation, and deep humility. How lovely is it that in the
end, I mean nothing to the animals I’ve come to care about and love so much?
How lovely is it that my presence, or lack thereof, has absolutely zero impact
on how they conduct their daily lives? These animals, while they are habituated
to our presence, are wonderfully wild, and have every right in the world to
remain that way – and nothing I do should change that. While we are all supposed
to be researchers emotionally removed from the animals we study, I know it’s
difficult for all of us to not become emotionally attached and begin to view
these animals as a little less than wild as a result. It happens to all of us whether we
want to admit it or not. I think we all want to believe that they begin to see us as
more than a weird, hairless, ape (if it even goes that far) attached to a loud metal
tank that routinely comes to hang out uninvited at their house.

But the
reality of it is, while my leaving the Mara will mean so much to me and be a
defining moment of my life, my leaving the Mara will mean absolutely nothing to
her or her inhabitants. Life there will go on unchanged. The hyenas will not miss
me, and while I’ll remember them for years to come, the chances they’ll even
remember me in a month are slim to none. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.
I’m so thankful to the Mara for the final lesson she taught me and the way she
decided to bid me farewell. Without this project, and the last five years I’ve
spent with it, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to experience that, and for
that I’m extremely grateful. I couldn’t have asked to spend my last five years
with a more intelligent, wonderful, and determined group of people and wouldn’t
be who I am now without everything they've taught me. Saying that leaving the Mara
and leaving the project has been a bittersweet emotional roller-coaster would
be a dramatic understatement. While I have absolutely zero clue what I’m doing
next, whatever ends up happening, I’ll be taking everything I’ve learned in the
past five years with me to wherever I end up.

Thank you to everyone, human and hyena alike, for
everything.

I love you all.

Atacama, Epic, and Gothic. While Atacama wasn't there my last morning, she's too important to leave out.

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Anyone out there
enjoy people watching? Me too (Disney World is the best place for this FYI).
I’m now an avid hyena watcher as well.

A bunch of cubs...people watching.

This morning I
was hanging out with five hyenas, SAMI, SLIM, TOBA, HONR, and PALA, and had a
moment (or ten) of complete and utter gratitude.

All the time
people ask me, why hyenas? Don’t you get so bored watching them day after day?

TOBA and SAMI

It was 6:15am
when I stumbled upon this group of five. SAMI (a hyena who I feel knows me
personally) immediately came up to investigate the car. TOBA joined her for the
car investigation. I watched as TOBA acted submissive to SAMI, pulling her ears
back and grinning as she approached. TOBA used to be one of the highest rankers
in the clan until her mother, the matriarch, died. SAMI then walked over to her
mother, PALA, to engage in a traditional hyena greet. The two of them, joined
by TOBA, then aggressed onto HONR, the lowest ranking female of the bunch, who
squealed and backed off. SLIM, an immigrant male, ran away after that...probably
scared he’d be next. I recorded all of this into my DVR. They then all sacked
out...besides SAMI who tried to chew on the car. We sat together and watched
the sunrise. I felt so grateful.

A coalition bristle tail stand-over onto an individual who
ears back grins and carpal crawls in submission.

It’s an
incredible thing to witness a hyena mother step in to assist her cub who is
getting beaten up by a lower ranking hyena and show him his rank. It’s really
neat to watch 12-week old babies, who have learned their rank, beat up on
8-year-old moms. Just the other day an adult female, MDRK, blissfully walked up
to the den only to be instantly attacked by five tiny cubs. These babies didn't
hesitate for a second before they were on her with bristle tail points, lunges,
snaps, and even a few bite shakes. I smiled because I knew their mothers taught
them they could and should act in this way.

But it’s not all
so black and white. There are some hyenas I rarely see aggress onto anyone. The
old matriarch of North clan, WAFL, was one of the most peaceful ever. Contrast
her with PIKE, matriarch of Happy Zebra clan, who is a stone-cold b****, to be
frank. Some cubs are the same size, like SGL’s babies, RBG and NSH, indicating
they nurse pretty equally, while baby NAUT is about half the size of ARGO,
indicating ARGO beats up NAUT pretty good when it comes time to nurse. SAMI and
ROUG are some of the most curious hyenas I’ve come across -- always running up
to the car to look me in the eye before nibbling on the front bumper. LOBI, my
absolute favorite hyena, has taken it upon herself to be the guard of North
den. Whenever someone new arrives she walks over and rustles them up a bit
before escorting them to the den. I always feel a little bad for the immigrant
males who try to come around because LOBI scares them off before they get
anywhere near.

KRAB (a north clan cub) is very aggressive to her sibling RNTN.

When I first
came out here, I wasn’t already head over heels for spotted hyenas (a reason I
came was because it is an opportunity to return to the African savanna and
study a large carnivore—a very rare opportunity). Now, I’m 100% here for these
bizarre matriarchal creatures that exhibit amazingly complex social networks
and intelligence, not to mention their remarkable immune resistance. In how
many species do you have a female who has evolved to be more aggressive/larger
than her male counterpart while also being a completely devoted mother to cubs
that require intense care? I watch mothers that just single handedly took down
a large antelope get on her back and roll around with a six-week-old cub.

It is a
miraculous thing to be let into the world of another species. So the easy
answer is, no, I’m never bored when I’m hanging out with hyenas. Over the past eight
months I’ve built such a relationship with these weirdos. Hyena culture is so
rich and multifaceted – always something going on, something changing.

So, I sat this
morning with a full heart, feeling so small in the world with the thoughts
swirling in my mind of all the complex societies that exist all around us, and thankful
to those five silly hyenas for the reminder.

Friday, April 5, 2019

It's been just about one month since I've left the Mara and my heart is heavy. But it's also full. I've had time to reflect on what this last year has brought me and to say that I'm overwhelmed is an understatement. I've met countless awe-inspiring people that have motivated me to aim high and work hard, taught me that it's never too late to try new things and start new hobbies, challenged me with thoughtful, engaging, and wonderfully complex conversations, and most of all provided me with lifetime friendships. Two such people are my co-research assistants for the year, Jessica and Erin (pictured below). I can't imagine this experience without them.

Enjoying the views from a popular picnic location in the Mara Triangle Conservancy (Pictured from left: Erin Weingarten, Katherine Steinfield, Jessica Gunson)

Before moving to the remote Serena camp, I was preparing for the level of social isolation that usually goes hand in hand with living in a camp of six people. But in fact, I was welcomed with open arms into the Mara Triangle community where I had the privilege of meeting my amazing Fisi Camp family, fellow researchers, rangers and park management, local lodge staff, safari guides, photographers, film crews, and even tourists, all from different backgrounds but sharing one thing in common: our love for wildlife. Through these friendships, I honed my photography skills, I practiced Swahili at the conversational level, I learned so much about the various cultures and ethnic groups that call Kenya home, I became an amateur birder, and I had the pleasure of accompanying several of these individuals at their places of work to learn more about how a wildlife conservancy functions. For all of these "once in a lifetime experiences," I am eternally grateful.

However, nothing fills me with more gratitude for my year than the time I spent with the hyenas. When we tell people what we do, it's usually met with disbelief that we could be studying such an unpopular species, and generally we get made fun of a lot for our outspoken and undying love of hyenas... but holy cow! They. Are. Cool. Not every researcher can say they get to see their study species up close and personal not once, but TWICE daily. If you follow this blog, I'm sure you're aware of many spectacular hyena facts. But let me list a couple of my favorites. Hyenas are so incredibly intelligent! They can understand each clan member's rank in a strict linear hierarchy sometimes reaching over a hundred individuals. As Emily recently shared, mothers will go through hell to raise their cubs (giving birth through their pseudo phallus, painstakingly nursing their young all day, carefully teaching them the entirety of their territory, guarding their cub's place at the carcass while they eat, all the while keeping them out of harms way). And last but not least, they can eat virtually anything (so jealous). My last morning spent at the North clan den was bittersweet but it's time for the next round of research assistants to have the most amazing year!

While leaving the Hyena Project is hard, I'm looking forward to the future. I managed to avoid the polar vortex for another year and have happily accepted a position continuing work in a Savannah ecosystem in central Kenya. Cheers to an unforgettable year, and another fantastic one to come! I'll leave you with some of my favorite photos of the famous "Ugly Five" because if we're being honest, these guys are the cutest.

Friday, March 29, 2019

In the past two months, Serena’s North clan has fallen prey
to a string of bad luck in the form of snares. An animal that has been snared
is usually very distressed, and in no small amount of danger, until the snare
has been removed. We treat these instances very seriously. Warning – some of
the photos below might be disturbing to sensitive readers.

The first snaring event was in February. A friend from home
was visiting, and on her last game drive in the Mara we noticed 4 tour cars and
a ranger near one of our hyenas. Hoping for a carcass or lion-hyena
interaction, we rushed over only to find our dear Zimu – only 16 months
old – with a snare deeply embedded in his neck. Wire snares of this sort are
set by poachers in the hopes of catching an animal to eat, and Zimu was an
unfortunate byproduct of this. After a quick meeting with the rangers, we all
agreed that we needed to call the Mara vet, Dr. Limu, immediately. He was at
Sekenani Gate, several hours away, so we set up to watch over Zimu until the
rescue could begin.

Zimu's snare dragged 3m behind him as he walked.

And then he went missing.

We looked away for only a moment when suddenly Zimu was
gone. With the vet team on their way, and the potential for Zimu to pull the
snare tighter and risk further injury growing with every minute, we called camp
for reinforcements and started a frantic search party. Three cars, 4 hyena
researchers, 2 rangers, and 1 hour later we found Zimu resting under the exact
same bush we had last seen him.

Zimu was left with a lovely green/yellow collar of antibiotic spray

The vet team arrived shortly thereafter and Zimu was quickly
darted and his snare removed. It appears that the snare had been embedded in
his neck for days, and the wound was severe. After a quick shot of antibiotics
and a spray of antibiotic solution (the green spray pictured below), Zimu was
up and running! We checked on him periodically for the rest of the week, and
can happily say that Zimu is fully healed and healthy once more. Hyenas are
incredibly resilient to injuries, and we’re all so thrilled that
this dramatic event ended happily.

Only a few weeks later, we got another call. Katana, son of
the Happy Zebra matriarch and now an immigrant male of North clan, was spotted
with a snare around his neck. I raced out to search for him, alerting the
rangers that we might have another rescue on our hands. Several hours later
there was no sign of Katana, and although we continued to search this area for
weeks, we couldn’t find him. Just as we were beginning to lose hope – Katana
reappeared happy, healthy, and completely snare-free! It seems that the snare
on Katana was thinner than the typical snare. This could be a snare meant for a
bushbuck or hare. Luckily, this meant Katana was able to break free all on his
own.

It's great when we get a reminder of how truly resilient our hyenas are.

Help Support the Research

You can help support our research by making a donation to the Hyena Research Fund at MSU. Your contributions provide necessary resources for the students and scientists to continue our work. Use the link below to make a donation or contact MSU for additional details.